Container for cosmetics, etc.



Feb. 24, 1931. J. w. JENNINGS CONTAINER FOR COSMETICS, ETC

Filed Dec. 27, 1929 7m n 7 ,M

7149 wiazvze q a.

I Patented Fee. 24, 1931 we ems JAMES w. JENn'INGsoF rnovinnncs, RHonE rsnaivnnssrsnon TO Q AKE ssrLvER Application filed. December 27, 1929. 's'eriarm; 416,796.

This invention relates to containers of the partments for articles as well as forloose materia'l'and-also' to containers ofthis character which are adapted to rest on a table or other support and which are provided with covers for enclosingthe contents when not in use.

p The usefulness of containers of this charact'er-is due to some extent to the convenience with which access may beihad to contained articles or materials,such as powder, powder puff, rouge, lipstick andthe like, which are commonly used together or at about the same time. l/Vhile the various items compris ing'the contents should be readily accessible they should also be compactly arranged so that the container need not be large and cumbersome to handle. Then the contents are not being used it is desirable that. they be en closedto protect them from contamination by dust or other foreignmatter. and of course .loose material, such as powder, should be kept separate from other objects. Moreover, the

compartment for powder should be capable of'presen'ting a"suliicient area of thismaterial to assure proper application thereof to the puff whether largelor small quantities of po'w-- derare present.

Obj ects'jof the present invention are to improve the construction and arrangement of I parts of a c'ontainerof the class'described to provide a container'capable of enclosing cosmetics in readily accessible andyet'compactly arranged positions; to provide a container of this character capable of exposing an ado-" V 'quate' area of powder when various amounts;

'ofthisnjaterial'are present; and also to pro- I vide container of this class of simple, eflicient and yet rugged and durable construc tion. p 1 r v e In accordance with theQpresent invention a container of the class described may 'be provided with a lower compartment or basin for loose material, as forpowder, and other'ob- "jects, such as rouge, lipstick, and the like I may be carried by a shelf adaptedto overtypes utable for cosmetics and having com- CONTAINER- m; mamas;

hang the powder cavity and to be removable i from; this position so that substantially the entire'upper surface of the powder may be exposed for application. contents may all be readily accessible and yet In this way "the be compactly nested together so as to occupy minimum space,

. Preferably thefshelf'and also acover for en- "closing'the contents are hingedto the powder compartment and meansare provided for preventing objects carried by the shelf from falling into the powder'comp a rtment and this is accomplished in away not to interfere with theaccessibility ofthese objects. The cover hasan interiorrecessor cavity to accommodate a 'portion at leastof the bodyof the puff when relativelylar ge amounts of-powder are 1n the powder compartment, thereby making itpossible to clcsethe coverat all times,

.Another "feature of this container resides in the constructionof the basin or compartment for powder. The sides ofthis comp a rtment are plans surfaces which nieet in angles "greater than right angles and these sides slope inwardly toward the center at'an angle less' thanfthe angle of repose for powders suitable": for i, cosmetic zpurposes. All

powders of this class are crystalline and some I ppwdersf such-astalcum have flat plate crystals. Because of'their crystalline character,

these powders will adhere better to aflat slop ing'sur face than'to a concave surface. As the sides areinclined at aniangle less than'the angle of 'reposefand' are also flat surfaces such powders'tend to remainin asta'te of equilibriunion theseslopingsides even when o'nly a small amount of powder is presentand thus it is assured'that"under-all conditions a large area-of the coiitained'powder. will be exposed forapplicationto the puff. By virtue of the fact that the sides meet in angles greater than right angles. itis "further assured that there will' be no sharpicorners or other pockets in which powder might be inaccessible.

Figs. 6, 7 and 8 are detail views illustrating.

V certain'features of the invention.

The container selected for illustration comprises a body portion 10 mounted upona base 11 by means of a pedestal 12 integrally.con-l necting these parts. The body portion is hollowed to provide a basin or-compartment 13 for cosmetics anda cover 14 is arranged to enclose cosmetics contained'in the compartment. r

The compartment is preferablyin the form of a chamber having. a bottom 16 and side walls 17 18, 19 and an open top and the side walls are plane surfaces which slope inwardly'to the bottom at anangle less than the angle of repose for crystalline powderssuch are commonlyused for these purposes; This 2 1- rangement assures that powder willremain in equilibrium upon slopingside walls even.

when only small quantities of powderare present. It thus becomes possible to expose a relativelyv large area of the contained powder for application to a puff or other. means. Asthese powders are allcrystalline and some such as talcum have flat plate crystals it is assured that the faces of the crystal will offer greater reslstance to sliding down the plane surfaces of the side walls. For exampleif these walls were concave, platelilre or ether crystals reposing thereon would contact with the concave surface only along the'edgesof the faces of the crystals andhence would offer very little frictional resistance to sliding.

. By virtue of the fact however that the, inner side walls are smoothly finished plane surfaces the crystals of these powdersmay rest with their flat surfaces directly against the plane surfaces of the walls, and in this way offer arelatively high resistance-to sliding movement.

The angle of repose for-powder of this character Wlll of course vary with different gradesof powder but 1n general this angle will not be greater than approximately having sharp corners :or crevices in which 'As the-side walls slope inwardly at an angle less than. 60gpowderdisposed-thereon will not tendto :fall away'but will remainiin stable equilibrium for use. In order toavoi l powder might become lodged so as tobje relatively inaccessible, the side walls are arranged to meet each other in angles greater than and hence'pow'derdisposed in the trough-like depressions formed by these meeting sides will always be readily accessible for applica- 7 tion to the puff. It will be apparent therefore that the various features thus far described provide forexposinga relatively large surface area of powder when 7 various amounts of thismaterial are present thereby assuring proper application of the powder to the puff. Under some conditions of use the powder might tend to accumulate near the brim of the powder compartment and to fall over the sides thereof. Forpreventing occurrences of this kind the brim of this compartment is provided withan inner marginal wall 21 (Fig. 5) which is substantially vertical sothatshould any powder come in contacttherewith it will readily fall away from this vertical marginal portion.

In order to support other'articles of'cosinetics within the container and separate from the pcwdcr, a shelf 22 is disposed longitudinally along the rear edge of. the container and adapted to rest within the vertical marginal wall 21. This shelf is provided with bears ings 23 (Fig. 2) by which it is mounted to pivot upon a hinge pin 24 (Figs. 4 and 5) mounted in bosses 26,26 on the rear-top edge oft-he bodyportion 10 and spaced to receive the intermediate and end portions of the hinge pin. As the shelf is relatively light the bearings. therefor are spaced closely adjacent the intermediate boss 26 of the hinge pin and the cover bein relativel heav is rovided with bearings 27 by which it is mounted ,on the hinge pin between the bearings23 for the shelf'and the end bosses 26 for this pin. This arrangement provides a durable and yet simple construction for operatively'connecting these parts. Adjacent the cues of the shelf the latter is provided with cylindrical depressions28 the lower portions of which 'areturnedinwardly to provide annular sup- 31 may rest.. The cylindrical portions of these depressions are of proper size to receive rouge cakes and the annular ledges extend inwardly only a relatively sh ortdistance leaving a central opening 32 through-which a finger my be inserted, to push the cake upwardly to-remove the'same. As the shelf is turned upwardly on its hingesto permit access to the lower or powder compartment these cakes ofrouge might under some con ditions tend to fall out andto prevent thls, clips 33 are affixed to the shelf on the sides of "the depressions adjacent to the hinges for releasably holding these cakes therein.

The shelf is also provided with an elongate depression 34 (Fig. 2) disposedlongitudinally between the cylindrical depressions fholdthe'lipstick slightly above the surface This elongate depres- 1 I This of the shelf sothat' the latter may be grasped readily by the fingers. his elongatedepression is fo;i1 with substantially straight longitudinal side walls 37 I so t hat the lipc' may be readily removable therefrom.

tance from the hinges to provide space for the fingers of the user when picking up or inv sert'ing liostick.

As the depression at depeiidsJi i om theunder side of th shelf it will be seen from 5 that when the shelf is in its upper or raised position a-vertical line through the center of gravity of the lipstick Y or other contained article will fall witl in the depression and to the left of the hinge; pin thus tend ng to maintain the lipstick in stable equilibrium. The central portion of the front edge of the shelf is cut away vto provide a recess 38 (P 2) for the pufi and through which the pull may begrasped by the fingers.

p In order thatthe device may 'be'in relatively stable equilibrium while in use means are provided for limiting the opening movement of the cover and for supporting this coverin a substantiallyverticalopen position.

For this purpose 'the'rear outer edge of the bodyportion 10' is provided with a longitudinal ledgefdl which is engageable with a similar ledge 42 011 the cover when the latteris in a substantially vertical open position so that the cover may rest upon thelower ledge. In this position the center of gravity of'the cover falls nearly withinthe base line and considering the weight of the contents, the

' container is in relatively stableequilibrium when the cover is open.- Vl lhenthe shelf vis raised to its vertical position the outer ends Y thereof abut the adjacent edges d3 (Figs. 6, 7,

8) of the cover and thus further movement of the shelf is prevented. The coveris providedwith an inner recess 4 adapted to ex tend above the central cut-away p rtion of;

he shelf and above the lower compartment to provide space for accommodating the puff present.

:As the.elongate'depression' provided in the shelf for lipstick or other elongate article is" provided with straight sides at Will heap-- parent that such article might be thrown out of this depression under some conditions as for example if t-he shelf'were raised abrupt lVhile abutment means m ght be provided on the cover for engagingthe l pstick to hold the latter in the depression ilyprefer to avoid a construction of this character be cause any abutment means would' ne'cessarily be close to the elongate depression and it would be difiicult to provide room for the fingers of a person using the lipstick. On the other hand it s undesirable to space the elongate depression at a large radiusfrom' the hinge as the centrifugal force incident to depression is also spaced .a suflicieiit disto permit complete closing of the cover f when relativelylarg'e supply of powder is (when-the cover is invertical position) and this nner Wall ofthe cover is inclined at an against this wall the inclination thereof will angle suchthat sliouldthe lipstick be thrown i not only cause the stick tofdescend upon the portion of the shelf between the elongate depression and the hinges but will also tip the.

stick or like article to an unstable position on the shelf, thereby: causing the stick to fall back into tlie depression, thus preserving :an

orderly arrangement without in anyway' nterfering with the accessibility oftheflipstick. It willabe understood of course that the elongate-depression in the shelf isl spaced in sufficient proximity to the hinges to allow the lipstick to fall therein underytheconditions just described. Should. the lipstick V be thrown outagainstthe cover in the-maner just described the stick willturn through an angle (Fig. 6)jo f approximate ly 1'80 degr-ees from the position which it occupied, "while reposing in the depression when the shelf was in its'lowered or horizontal position. As thedislodged lipstick descends to a position of unstable equilibrium (Fig. 7) on the edge of the shelf it, is caused to rock in the opposite direction so that t final- 1y lands in the depressions ('Fig- 8) with the same'side upv as before it was thrown out. This is importantwhen the lipstick is provided with a knob 48 or other protuberance by which it may be picked up astlie knob,

r is always disposed upwardly wher-e it may be ofuse d: ,7 V

The upper or. exterior surface of the cover turn or isformedwith sides 49 which-slope upwardly from the-outer edges thereof to a central por t on for guiding the fingersof a user to the handle 51" mounted at, theapices of thesloping sides. This handle is; preferably in the form of a vertically e'xtendihgflatplatehavin notches 52 cut throughthep'late and'similariy disposed inv opposite edgesthereof for engagement byfthe fingers of a user. The have front and rear. faces of this plate al y embossnient-s 53 which may be a decorative character, and serve to provide a good grip on;the faces of the handle; outer side walls 5e of thebody portion} r arranged-to} slope downwardly andinwardly to the pedestal so the cover, bodyi'portionjmay be grasped readily in the hand and at the tionto another. f c g Nh leonly'oneform of'this invention has been shown in the "drawings, it will be ap,-

parent that "various -modifications thereof:

will occur to those skill-ed in the art to which '1 same time the cover may beheld closedlwhile the container-is beingmoved from one posi- 7125 M l J his invention appertainsand that the invention is not limitedexcept as indicated by p the appended claims.

I claim 1. In a device of the class described, the f combination of a compartment for powder,

' said compartment comprising a bottom and 2.v The combination as set forth in claim 1, and means for holding the cover in a substantiallyvertical, open position, and thereby obviating putting the device in a condition of unstable equilibrium when,thecover is "3, wherein the shelf has depressed annular opened. e

3. In a dev ce of the class described, a compartment for powder, saidicompartment comprising a bottom and side walls, ashelf and a cover hinged to a side wall, the cover being adaptedto enclose the shelf and to fit the side walls of the compartment, the shelf having depressions for cosmetics, and clips projecting above some of the depressions for retaining the cosmetics. v

4. The combination asset forth in claim ledges adjacent the ends thereof for rouge, and the retaining clips project above these ledges for retaining the rouge. r

5. The combination asset forth in'claim 3, wherein the shelf has depressed annular ledges adjacent the ends thereof for supporting rouge and has openings withinthe ledges and through the shelf whereby the rouge may be removed, the shelf having an elongated depression disposed longitudinally thereof and between the depressed annular ledges.

6. In a device of the classdescribed, a com- I partment comprising a bottom and side walls and having an open top, the inner sides of:

the side walls being'plane surfaces inclined inwardly toward the bottom and'meeting each other in angles greater than ninety degrees.

7 In a devicerof the class described, a compartment for powder, said compartment comprising a bottom and side walls, the inner sides of the side walls being plane surfaces inclined inwardly to the bottom at an angle less than the angle" of repose for crystalline powder.

8'. A container of the class described, comprising a body portion having a compartment for powder, a cover for the compartment, the cover being mounted topivot 1n the body portion, a handle on the upper surface of the cover, said handlecomprising a substantially flat-,vertically disposed plate having notches extending through the plate and in the outer edges thereof, said notches being similarly disposed and of sufficient size to accommodate the fingers of an operator.

9. A container of the class described comprising a body portion having a lower compartment therein, a shelf having an elongate depression therein for holding an elongate article, means for supporting the shelf for pivotalmotion from a substantially horizontal position above the lower compartment to a substantially vertical position at oneside of the lower compartment, a cover for enclosmg the shelf and for closing the lower compartment, means for supporting the cover for movement to open and to closed positions, the cover having an inner surface disposed at a sufiicient angle when the cover is open to tip the elongate article disposed thereagainst' to an unstable position on the shelf when the latter is in substantially horizontal position, the elongate depressionin the shelf being sufficiently near to said inner surface 'of the coverto allow the elongate article to fall.

therein. i

10. The combination as set forth in claim 9, and an elongate article receivable in saidv elongate depression in said-shelf, said elongate depression having suflicient depth so that a vertical line through the center of gravity of the elongate article will be disposed on the under side of the shelf when the latter is. in substantially vertical position.

11. The combination as set forth in claim 9, and an elongate article receivable in the elongate depression in the shelf, the elongate depression having substantially straight sides and being of a. depth to hold the elongate article slightly above the upper surface of the shelf, whereby the elongate article may be readily accessible. 7 r I 12. The combination as set forth in claim 9, and means providing abutments on the cover and'on the body portion, said abut,-

ments being engageable .for limiting the opening of the cover- 1 V 13. The combination asset forth inclaim 9,. and means providing abutments on the cover and. on the'body portion, said abut;

ments being engageable for limiting the opening of the, cover and being positioned for holding the cover in a substantially vertical position when open, whereby the container may be more stable when the cover is open.

prising a body portion-having a compartment therein, a hlnge pln mounted'on one 'side of the body portioma shelf having an elongate depression therein for holding an elongate article, av cover for enclosing the 14. A container of the class described, comshelf and for closing the compartment, the

cover and the shelfjbeing mounted to pivot on the hinge pin, means for supporting'the cover in open position, the shelf being move,

able from a substantiallyhorizontal position 1 above the compartment to a substantially V H vertical position at one side of the compartment, the cover having an inner surface theposecl at a sufiiclent angle when the cover is open to Up an elongate article chsposecl thereagainst to an unstable position'on the shelf when the latter is in a substantially horizontal position, the elongate depression on the shelf being 1n sufi'iclent proximity to said inner surface of the cover to allow the el0nv gate article to fall into the depression.

Signed bynle at Attleboro, Mass, this I clay of December, 1929.

twenty-fourth JAMES V. JENNINGS. 

